Paul Temple and the Alex Affair

Spare production and a strong cast will have listeners engaged with this clever whodunit from the first episode. Originally aired in the 1960s on the BBC, the production is arranged into thirty-minute episodes, each of which throws another dagger (or bomb or booby-trapped car) at the inimitable Paul Temple (Peter Coke) and his wife, Steve (Marjorie Westbury), as they aid Scotland Yard. While Temple doesn't have the observational powers of, say, Sherlock Holmes, his inquisition of the many mysterious characters herein and his unswerving need to grab a proper dinner in the midst of it all prove effective enough. While the stories' endings may wrap things up a tad too conveniently, the pure delight of the various affairs makes this a worthwhile listen. F.G. (c) AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine